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Serge Savard

Serge Aubrey "the Senator" Savard, hockey player (b at Montréal 22 Jan 1946). A stalwart defender, Savard began his career at 15 when he was noticed by a scout at a school hockey game, and within 2 seasons he was named captain of the Junior Canadiens.

Savard, Serge Aubrey

Serge Aubrey "the Senator" Savard, hockey player (b at Montréal 22 Jan 1946). A stalwart defender, Savard began his career at 15 when he was noticed by a scout at a school hockey game, and within 2 seasons he was named captain of the Junior Canadiens. In 1966 he began playing for the Houston Apollos of the Central Hockey League, winning Rookie of the Year that season.

Savard joined a star-laden defence with the MONTREAL CANADIENS in 1967 and played for them during one of the most successful periods in the team's history. Paired with Guy Lapointe, Savard was the anchor of the Canadiens' defence team (dubbed the "Big 3") for the next 14 seasons - during which the team won 8 STANLEY CUPS, including 4 in a row from 1976-79 - and he won the CONN SMYTHE trophy as playoff MVP for his performance in the 1969 playoffs. Never flashy but never out of position, Savard ignited the Canadiens' offence with crisp passes out of his own zone, turning defence into lethal offence. In 1979 he was awarded the NHL's Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, given to "the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey." He left the Canadiens for the WINNIPEG JETS in 1981 and finished his playing career there in 1983.

Savard registered 106 goals and 333 assists during his 16 years in the NHL. He returned to the Canadiens as general manager and won 2 more Stanley Cups in that capacity before leaving the position in 1995. A member of the HOCKEY HALL OF FAME since 1986, Savard was invested with the ORDER OF CANADA in 1994. In 2006 the Canadiens retired his jersey (#18).